FAR FUND

IMPROVING AND EXPANDING SERVICES AND SYSTEMS FOR
PEOPLE ON THE AUTISTIC SPECTRUM

Community Resource Exchange 39 Broadway, 10th Floor New York, NY 10006	$3,485 Contact: Diane Englander 212-616-4994
Project Title: Technical Assistance to GRASP Community Resource Exchange (CRE) provides management assistance to nonprofit groups. With support from the FAR Fund, CRE will provide technical assistance to the Global and Regional Asperger Syndrome Partnership (GRASP), an educational and advocacy organization for individuals with Asperger Syndrome/High-Functioning Autism and their families.

Fund for Social Change
135 East 15th Street
New York, NY 10003

$33,704
Contact: David Tobis
212-529-0110x322

Project: FAR Fund Fellowship Program: Philanthropy for Social Change
The Fund for Social Change is a public foundation that administers the FAR Fund. The FAR Fund Fellowship is a four-month program, designed to expose individuals to social change through philanthropy. The Fellow is mentored to develop a project within one of the FAR Fund’s areas of focus. In addition, the Fellow may receive a grant to implement the project he or she develops. The first Fellow was Michael Carley who used the Fellowship to create GRASP, the Global and Regional Aspergers Syndrome Partnership. The second Fellow, Gina Cheron, will use the Fellowship to create a legal representation and advocacy unit within Dwa Fanm for Haitian immigrant women who are victims of domestic violence.

Global and Regional Aspergers Syndrome Partnership 415 St. Johns Place, #4A Brooklyn, NY 11238	$25,000 Contact: Michael John Carley 718-494-5338
Project Title: GRASP: Planning Phase The Global and Regional Aspergers Syndrome Partnership (GRASP) is an advocacy and support organization for people with Aspergers Syndrome/High Functioning Autism and their families. A grant from the FAR Fund will be used to launch the new organization.

The Institute of Applied Human Dynamics 3225 Bainbridge Avenue Bronx, NY 10458	$45,000 Contact: Elizabeth Corrigan 718-920-0811
Project Title: Person Centered Planning for Adults with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder The Institute of Applied Human Dynamics (IAHD) has been serving persons with autistic spectrum disorders and developmental disabilities since 1957. A grant from the FAR Fund will be used to promote Person Centered Planning for people with autism, including those who lived at the Willowbrook State School.

Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities
1050 Forest Hill Road
Staten Island, NY 10314

$32,000
Contact: Steve Holburn
718-494-5339

Project Title: Evaluation of FAR Fund/OMRDD Person Centered Planning Initiative
The New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities (IBR) is a semi-independent research component of the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD). The FAR Fund grant will enable the Institute to evaluate the implementation of Person Centered Planning in three participating agencies in the FAR Alliance: the Institute of Applied Human Dynamics, the Shield Institute and Working Organization for Retarded Children and Adults. The goal of the project is to demonstrate organizational strategies that can be adopted system-wide to promote person centered planning and enhance the lives of individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities.

Job Path
22 West 38th Street, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10018

$40,000
Contact: Fredda Rosen
212-944-0564

Project Title: The FAR Leadership Alliance: FAR Fund/OMRDD Initiative
Job Path, established in 1978 by the Vera Institute of Justice, is a pioneer in the development of supported work strategies as a vehicle for enabling people with developmental disabilities to move into the mainstream workforce. The grant from the FAR Fund will create the FAR Alliance to build the capacity of each of the three agencies supported by the FAR Fund, to provide person centered planning and individual services to people on the autistic spectrum.

NYU Institute for Education and Social Policy
726 Broadway, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10003

$23,000
Contact: Elizabeth Cecil
212-998-5880

Project Title: Psychodynamic Intervention: Parent Support Project
The Institute for Education and Social Policy at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Education engages in research and strategic support for community involvement in public school reform. A grant from the FAR Fund will allow the Institute to integrate a parent-focused, psychodynamic intervention within the Autism Project in P.S. 32 in Brooklyn.

Resources for Children with Special Needs
116 East 16th Street, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10003

$35,000
Contact: Judith Sussman
212-677-4650

Project Title: Directory: Connecting Children and Youth with Autistic Spectrum Disorders and Their Families to the Programs and Services
Resources for Children with Special Needs (RCSN), was founded by parents of children with disabilities in 1983 and works to ensure that all New York City children from birth to 21 with disabilities or special needs have access to and obtain the full range of services to which they are entitled. The FAR Fund grant will support RCSN to develop, produce, publish and market “The Comprehensive Directory of Schools, Programs and Services for Children and Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders and their Families in New York City, the Lower Hudson Valley and Nassau County.”

Shield Institute 144-61 Roosevelt Avenue Flushing, NY 11354	$45,000 Contact: Joan Deraval 718-939-8700
Project Title: Creative Futures The Shield Institute provides innovative service delivery to people with autism and provides the support necessary for meaningful life in the community. A grant from the FAR Fund will enable the Creative Futures project to utilize Person Centered Planning strategies to help individuals with autism identify and carry out their personal goals.

Working Organization for Retarded Children and Adults
1979 Marcus Avenue, Suite E. 140
Lake Success, NY 11042

$45,000
Contact: Tina Miller
516-327-9561

Project Title: Pathways to a Dream
The mission of Working Organization for Retarded Children and Adults (WORC), is to provide services that facilitate an independent and productive life for individuals with developmental disabilities and traumatic brain injury. With help from the FAR Fund, WORC will provide a Person Centered Planning approach to facilitate more individualized services for people to explore their dreams and goals with sufficient support.